Substitute
by Passagie
Summary: AU. It was all a political ploy. She did it so her sister could have the happily ever after ending, but things are quickly escalating out of hand when she found herself in love with him while hiding the biggest secret of all.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But you already knew that didn't you?

Some short notes before you begin: This is an AU story. Although I say Konoha, the time and place that you should associate with it should be China in the old days – the really old days. So if you come across some weird traditions or etiquette when reading the story, you know where they come from. I do apologize for some horribly translation on parts though. Some ideas are kinda hard to convey in English. That said, enjoy!

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"TenTen has been _what_?"

Admittedly, Sakura expected a lot of things after being away from home for three years. She expected her mom to fuss about how she must've overworked herself over the years learning from Tsunade-sama. She expected Matsumomo-san, the resident cook, to scold her for being too skinny which was a big no-no, of course, as skinny girls are never good for bearing sons. No doubt Matsumomo would proceed to whip up a mouth watering feast for her every day until she can pass for a pig in human skin. She even expected the disdainful sniff her cat gave her when she patted its head. However, she certainly did _not_ expect the earth-shattering news that Hinata-chan broke to her.

"TenTen-chan has been summoned." Hinata repeated. "She is to be part of Emperor Uchiha-sama's harem. The order came two days ago."

"Does Neji-Nii-sama know?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"N-no." Hinata mumbled quietly. "Oh, Sakura-chan! Th-this is all so _wrong_! TenTen-chan and Neji-Nii-san are supposed to be together. Everyone can tell how much they're in love. But now, now it's all messed up! TenTen is going to have to go to the Imperial Palace in a we-week, and Neji-Nii-san is still on a mission at the northern borders! What are we going to do?"

"Perhaps we can find a substitute?" Sakura suggested. It is a somewhat farfetched idea but not entirely impossible. After all, nobody outside the family and the Hyuugas has actually _seen _TenTen's appearance. Like all virtuous, unmarried ladies of noble houses, TenTen was kept strictly within the Tanaka residence once she reached the age of fourteen. It didn't help that she contracted a sickness upon the age of thirteen that considerably weakened her constitution and kept her almost permanently bed ridden. Sakura would've suffered through the same fate herself, as she too is a proper, unmarried lady of the Tanaka house; but she had begged her father to let her learn medical skills so she can heal TenTen someday. It took a year of pleading and well orchestrated tears, but Tanaka finally acquiesced and allowed Sakura to learn under Tsunade – a legend, not only by her medical prowess but also by her social status as a woman.

"We've tried, but we s-simply don't have enough time." Hinata replied. "It's a well known f-fact that TenTen is beautiful – they say her beauty is the p-pride of the city. Tanaka-sama simply couldn't f-find someone who can uphold that r-reputation and remain absolutely loyal. Besides, this is treason; a slip of t-tongue could mean death for everyone even remotely involved." A bitter smile graced Hinata's lips. "It's i-ironic isn't it? We aren't even allowed outside without a sedan carriage to h-hide ourselves in. Yet TenTen-chan's reputation precedes her, and now the emperor is interested in her."

Is it really that simple? Sakura wondered. From what she heard from Tsunade as well as many of the patrons who frequents the clinic, Emperor Uchiha is hardly the type of man that lusts after beautiful women. Granted he is young, initiated as emperor barely a year ago when his father passed away, but running the great country of Konoha has more than his hands full.

And then everything clicked into place for Sakura.

Sasuke Uchiha _is _young. He _does _have his hands full running this country. His authority has not completely been established, and that's _exactly_ why he needs TenTen - to balance the powers! It's no big secret that Tanaka and Orochimaru are the left and right hand men of Uchiha Fugaku, the late Emperor. And Orochimaru has wormed his ward Karin into Empress Dowager Mikoto's favor which means a direct source of influence over the harem. Of course, in all technicalities, no woman in the harem should have any power to influence proceedings in the Imperial Court, but history proves otherwise. Better men have fallen in the name of love. And even if Sasuke does not show Karin any favor, there are still the undeniable influences that Karin has over the Empress Dowager. Respect and duty dictate Sasuke to obey his mother to a certain extent – especially should the topic involve an heir… And should Karin actually bear him an heir, it will be the beginning of the end. Karin would have secured a position as the next Empress, and Sasuke would surely become disposable. Orochimaru would never commit an outright mutiny simply because he would never win the hearts of the people that way. However, Sakura certainly doesn't put it beyond him to pull some strings to control an heir by his own ward.

Of course! It all makes sense now. Granted, Sasuke could choose any random woman from his harem to pit against Orochimaru and Karin, but what better leverage than the daughter of Tanaka? It's all a political ploy, a tactic as old as time. It may be unoriginal, but it certainly works wonders. Sasuke has no interest in bedding TenTen or Karin or anyone else for that matter. He just needs to solidify his authority. With this new conclusion, Sakura began to formulate a new plan.

"Ne, Hinata-chan. Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Of-of course Sakura-chan. What brought this on?" TenTen is a classical kind of beautiful with her dark luscious hair and warm brown eyes while Sakura is an exotic kind of beauty in Hinata's mind. It's not every day that you see jaded green eyes coupled with soft pink hair. Although the two girls may have some drastically different features, they're both beautiful in their own respective ways. Hinata's eyes widened suddenly in understanding. Sakura was planning to sacrifice herself. She was going to be the substitute. "No! Sakura-chan, you mustn't. Absolutely not. It's too dangerous."

"Who else if not me?" Sakura demanded. "We certainly can't trust anyone else."

"But there must be another way - a _safer _way." Hinata debuted.

"We both know that this is the only way." Sakura's voice softened. "Besides, we can't let TenTen go there. Neji-Nii-sama's issue aside, TenTen's health is still at a precarious position. She can't possibly withstand the pressures of the harem – all the fighting, jealousy, and manipulation will be too much stress for her. She always tries to act so _strong_, but she's _not. _She might be mischievous sometimes, but she has a heart of pure gold. She wouldn't be able to handle it."

"But Sakura-chan… y-you shouldn't sacrifice your own happiness either. Once you enter the Imperial Palace, you can n-never go out. You'll be forever branded as the emperor's woman whether you have his favor or not - just one of thousands of women in the harem."

"Don't worry. I have a plan."

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TenTen ran a beautiful jade comb through Sakura's hair. It has been exactly seven days since she has been summoned to court, and five days since Sakura came back from her studies under Tsunade. Five days since Sakura offered to take her place. It would take the two remaining days to transport Sakura to the Imperial Palace with as much pomp and circumstance deserving of the occasion. It isn't supposed to be like this, but they are out of time. Tonight may possibly be the last time that the two sisters will see each other.

There are so many, many things that TenTen wants to say to Sakura. She wants time to freeze at this moment forever; or even better, for time to go back to when they were still young and carefree. She wants to chastise Sakura for not taking care of herself better. She wants to scold Sakura for undertaking such a task for her benefit. But most important of all, she wants to cry and hold on to Sakura as she apologizes and thanks her for her sacrifice - because although she may deny otherwise, she can't stand the thought of leaving Neji. But she did none of these things. The words were too heavy and needed to be said to too many people. She wouldn't say it. She _can't_ say it. TenTen simply couldn't break open the floodgate that would surely occur should she broach this sensitive subject, so instead she rambles on about inconsequential matters to fill the silence.

"One comb, combed to the end. Two combs, combed until your hair grows white. Three combs, combed for sons and grandsons abound." TenTen started to recite the sayings that came with the union of two people. The combing ceremony is generally performed the night before the wedding ceremony at the bride's home and is supposed to bring good luck and symbolized longevity, harmony, fertility, good wealth, and a long-lasting marriage. Traditionally, this ceremony is to be done by a 'good fortune' woman (which usually meant a happily married woman with an obscene amount of sons) or sometimes the mother; but TenTen had requested for this honored position to spend some last moments with Sakura. Nobody protested even though TenTen hardly matched the qualifications for obvious reasons.

"Four combs, combed for…" TenTen struggles to remember how the poem goes. "For…" For the life of her, she can't remember how the saying is supposed to go anymore, the words are eluding her. "For all the good things in life."

That didn't sound right. As a matter of fact, TenTen knew it was completely wrong; but nevertheless, she certainly does wish Sakura all the good things in life, so perhaps it's not completely out of place. Sakura giggled softly, and before long, both girls started laughing uproariously.

"I'm sorry. I guess I've ruined your luck, Sakura-chan." It sounded like an apology for messing up the good luck sayings, but Sakura knew better. TenTen was apologizing for the sacrifice that Sakura is making for her sake. TenTen must be blaming herself for how things turned out.

"Don't be." Sakura replied softly. "I have the best luck in the world for having you as a sister." After all, if not for the Tanaka's compassionate actions ten years ago, Sakura would have long departed the world.

'_This is the least I could do…'_

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Sakura hadn't slept a wink the night before her departure. After TenTen's indirect apology, the two girls reminisced about the past, and Sakura told many stories of the wondrous world outside the Tanaka estate. Their conversations continued into the wee hours of the morning until Sakura finally ushered TenTen to get some sleep before her health suffers. TenTen protested at first, wanting to fit all the words in the world in what was left of the few measly hours she had with her dear sister. However, Sakura stubbornly refused to budge her position, so TenTen eventually consented even though both girls knew that sleep would not come easy, if at all, to them that night.

Lady Tanaka came into Sakura's room almost immediately after TenTen left, and Sakura has a sneaking suspicion that her mother had been waiting outside for some time.

"Sakura-chan," Lady Tanaka started without preamble. "This is hardly the fate I wished for you. Perhaps for many others, being admitted into the royal harem may seem like a blessing, but we know better. We've seen too much. It's a treacherous place, Sakura-chan, not at all the glamorous place it's made out to be.

"But you already know that, don't you, Sakura-chan? You've always been such an intelligent child. Do you remember the story of the Teeth and Tongue?"

Sakura nodded her head. It was a story that her mother had told her many times before. Teeth always appeared to be strong and fierce in its ways while the tongue was malleable and soft-spoken. They fought every day, and at first teeth always seemed to win. However, through the passage of time, teeth fell from its stronghold while the tongue remained the same as it always was. It was a simple enough story, a bit silly too, Sakura mused, although the lesson to be learned is quite useful. It's wise not to be so cutting and confrontational all the time. Sometimes, a softer approach is the way to victory.

"Remember it well, Sakura-chan, especially when interacting with the other concubines. Spoken words carry heavy burdens, but perhaps the burdens of the unspoken are even heavier.

"And as for the emperor, he is like fire. To touch him unharmed, you must be like water. Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron. You must learn to utilize that power. Do you understand, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura nodded once more, soaking in everything her mother told her. It was a rare moment for them. Sakura's mother is usually the bubbliest person around, fussing about the most random things; but tonight, she spoke with the utmost seriousness.

"But most important of all," Lady Tanaka continued. "Always remember why you are where you are. You must keep all things in perspective at all times. I trust you know the consequences should _anyone_ find that you are not who they think you are."

"Sakura-chan," Lady Tanaka's voice softened considerably, almost cracking. "I love you so very, very much." She hugged Sakura fiercely for a long while and placed a gentle kiss on her cheeks before returning to her normal, bubbly tone. "Come now, Sakura-chan, we must get ready. It's almost morning, and you're hardly presentable. The carriages from the Imperial Palace could be here any moment!"

Morning came too fast for everyone in the Tanaka household, but Sakura was ready. Her mother had spent hours meticulously dressing her in the traditional red wedding attire, fixing her hair, and applying her makeup until Sakura barely recognized herself.

The carriage that was to take her to the Imperial Palace arrived just when the first rays of the sun reached over the horizons. Sakura bowed deeply to her mother and father, showing the deep respect she has for them as she bade them goodbye in front of the large doors that separated the Tanaka estate from the rest of the world. She wished TenTen was there too, but of course, they cannot afford for her to be seen.

Then without looking back, Sakura draped the red covering that was part of her headdress over her face and entered the carriage.

From now on, she will be TenTen Tanaka until her mission is over.

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Reviews would be very, very much appreciated! 3


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sasuke wouldn't be acting so stupid right now. Really.

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The journey to the Imperial Palace was long, but when you have someone like Ino chatting all day long right beside your ear, time flew by. Sakura would never admit it, but she was glad for the company, her _only _company.

Initially, Sakura wasn't sure why Ino had been sent to accompany her as her hand maid. They were not particularly close although Ino is privy to the fact that she is not actually TenTen. Sakura had never seen her before she went to train with Tsunade, and at first, Sakura couldn't help but feel that Kyoko, who she'd known almost all her life, would make a much better companion. But after listening to Ino talk for an hour, she knew exactly why Ino is the one chosen instead to accompany her.

Ino knows _everything_ there is to know about the royal harem.

Within the first five minutes, Ino has drilled into her the hierarchy of the forbidden palace. Sakura had always known that the Empress Dowager is at the head of the hierarchy where the royal harem is concerned. She is the one keeping all the concubines in line and planning festivities upon occasions along with the current Empress. Then below her, the women most favored by the emperor have the most power… But apparently, she was greatly lacking in detail.

Ino informed her that indeed, the Empress Dowager is on top of the food-chain, the most powerful position a woman can dream to have. But below her, royal consorts are classified into 'Empress', '_Madames_', '_Imperial Concubines_', and '_Scattered Positions_'. There is only one Empress, and the title usually went to whoever popped the first son. _Madames_ are then classified into three separate categories: '_The Honored Imperial Concubine_', '_Madame_', or '_The Honored Lady_'. The Imperial Concubines can be classified into '_The Decent Consort_', '_The Decent Concubine'_, and _'The Decent Beauty'_. And lastly, Scattered Positions consists of '_Beautiful Lady'_, '_The Talented Lady_', and '_The Average Lady_'.

Sakura thought the titles were incredibly tedious, not to mention extremely clichéd. It mildly reminded her of the long nights she spent memorizing different herbs and their uses, but at least those information were _useful_.

"It is what it is. You'll get used to it soon enough." Ino responded nonchalantly when Sakura voiced the thought to her.

"Do you know what position Karin is?" No doubt she will be assigned the same position as Karin should her hunches about the Emperor be correct.

"She's an '_Honored Imperial Concubine_'." Ino replied, easily drawing forth the information. "It's a position reserved for those the Emperor especially favors, or those who know people in high places. _Very_ high places if you catch my drift."

Sakura nodded in understanding. Ino is referring to Orochimaru and to an extent, the Empress Dowager, since it's a well known fact that Emperor Uchiha is as interested in women as water is attracted to oil - which is to say, not very much at all. Not that Sakura is complaining. She has no intention to sacrifice her virtue just so she can be an effective chess piece for him; and should her plan work, she wouldn't have to.

"Karin is probably aiming to be empress, but I doubt she will have any luck with that." Ino suddenly leaned in closer and cupped a hand around Sakura's ear in a gesture of utmost secrecy. Of course, there was no need since they were the only ones in the carriage. They were hardly in danger of being overheard, but the action certainly added to the scandalous nature of the news Ino revealed. "I heard… the emperor isn't interested in women." Ino paused for dramatic effect. "He's interested in _men_."

How she was privy to that information, Sakura would _never _know.

"_Really?_" Her incredulous tone completely betrayed her façade to appear uninterested in the matter.

Sakura had never considered the possibility although now that she thought about it, it certainly wasn't an impossibility. It would explain his lack of interest in the opposite sex…

"_Yes, really._" Ino reassured her, brimming with more scandalous news to share.

From then on, their conversation took an unexpected but certainly much more interesting turn.

It was dawn the following day when Sakura finally arrived at the Forbidden City and was promptly guided to the Inner Palace where the Emperor and all his Royal Consorts resided.

Sakura was given her own private living quarters, the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring, but the place was completely dilapidated. Judging by the appearance, nobody had lived in there for at least a good ten years.

Sakura heaved a sigh. How utterly boring and predictable. It was exactly as she had expected. They couldn't outright demean her by sending her to live in shared quarters with the lowlier concubines since she is, after all, the daughter of Tanaka. However, this old and dreary pavilion - which did no justice for its name's sake - located at the obscure corner of the East Palace spoke volumes of the imbalance in court.

It is better this way, Sakura told herself. The farther she stays away from the emperor, the less troublesome it will be. Besides, even though this place lacks the grandiose of the rest of the palace, it's quaint and peaceful. She would not be disturbed here. And look over there! Behind the living quarters was a nice little garden that she could cultivate some medical herbs…

"Mistress Tanaka-sama," Two servant girls called out to Sakura, kneeling respectfully. "We're Tomoe and Yukiko, and they are the Eunuchs of the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring." They gestured behind them. "It's an honor to serve you."

Sakura glanced behind them to see six eunuchs standing in a row, their heads bowed deeply.

"Welcome to the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring." The six eunuchs greeted in unison, their voices higher than any other full grown male that Sakura had ever heard. For a moment, Sakura stared at them in interest. She had heard of eunuchs before, but this is her first time meeting one … or six.

Eunuchs were servants of the Imperial Palace. They clean, run errands for the emperor and the royal consorts, and perform various other nitpicky busywork that keep the inner palace running smoothly. Most of them were brought into the palace when they were young boys and castrated, which was why their voices sound several octaves higher than they should.

Sakura had winced at the process when the topic came up in her journey to the palace, but Ino informed her it was an absolutely necessary precaution to keep fraternization at bay. It was not uncommon for eunuchs to help the concubines dress or even help them bathe. As a matter of fact, it was the eunuchs' job to roll naked concubines in comforters and deliver them to the Emperor should he so desires. It simply would not do if the Emperor should bed someone tainted, so they removed the temptation. Sakura thought the whole ordeal was rather gruesome, necessary or not.

"Please, call me TenTen." Sakura bid them, after permitting them to rise. It would be wise to have good relations with these servants.

"Please forgive us, we can-," The eunuch who spoke up paused suddenly as he saw the hurt look in Sakura's eyes. And what pretty almond-shaped eyes they are … a bright jaded green that seems to pierce into the utmost depth of your soul and perfectly proportional to her face.

"…Is my request not to be granted…?" Sakura implored, widening her eyes a little more to look utterly innocent and helpless. Sakura was suddenly happy for this particular skill that she had sharpened when trying to convince her father to let her study under Tsunade.

"Of-of course not, Mistr-ah, I mean, TenTen-sama." The eunuch stuttered, a bit stunned. Who wouldn't be when they have such beseeching eyes upon them?

Sakura inwardly congratulated herself. It seems like she had already won over her servants' affections. They all seem a bit dazzled by her little performance and are evidently very taken with her.

Ino made a small unladylike snort, having seen through Sakura's little charade. _The girl seems to have a brain in that ridiculously large forehead of hers after all…_ Ino inwardly nodded in approval.

"Well, let's get started, shall we? We have our work cut out for us." Sakura stated. "We should at least get the bedrooms cleaned so we have somewhere comfortable to sleep in tonight." This place is going to be their home for a long while, might as well makes it comfortable as possible.

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_Pavilion of Phoenix – Palace of the Queen Consort_

"So, the rumors are true then?" Empress Dowager, Uchiha Mikoto, demanded. "The girl is beautiful enough to be deemed the 'pride of the city'?"

"Absolutely, your highness." The eunuch replied. "Beautiful doesn't do her justice. She's like a goddess fallen out of the sky."

"You've done well." Mikoto waved her hand to dismiss the servant, mulling the information over and over in her head.

'… like a goddess fallen out of the sky.' Mikoto's brows furrowed a bit as she took a sip of her tea. What a troublesome development. This particular eunuch had been one of her most faithful servant for years and _very_ hard to impress. For him to say that TenTen is beautiful is already a feat in itself, but to describe her as a goddess fallen out of the sky…? What kind of beauty must that be?

"What do we do now, your highness?" Karin questioned in consternation, her hands twisting the handkerchief in irritation.

Mikoto spared her a look. "We wait."

That is the only thing they could do. It would be unwise to draw forth any attention to the girl in the time being.

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_Pavilion of Everlasting Spring_

"TenTen-sama? TenTen-sama?" Ino had finally unpacked and arranged everything in the sleeping quarters, but Sakura is nowhere to be found.

"I'm in here, Ino-san."

Ino followed the voice, passing the back gardens until she came before a set of doors. Seeing that they are unlocked, Ino tentatively pushed them open. The doors groaned loudly, and Ino grimaced. "This is…"

"It's a storage room, mostly for books." Sakura said, picking up a random book from the shelves, browsing through it. She was very pleased to have found this place. She could now preoccupy herself with these books instead of waiting every day for the emperor to come grace her with his presence.

"How did you find this place?" Ino questioned.

"Tomoe-san told me about it. It's a nice place isn't it? Since not many people come here or even know about it all, there's nobody guarding it at all." Sakura then pouted cutely. "But, even though there is virtually nobody here, this place has been kept pristine, unlike our poor pavilion. Ah… I suppose this is the difference in treatment for 'knowing people in high places' ne?"

Ino rolled her eyes at Sakura's playful complaint.

"What time is it, Ino?"

"It's almost night time. The sun will set over the horizon any moment now."

"Ah, in that case, tell the others to have some dinner and dismiss them for the night. You should get some rest too; it's been a long day for everyone. Besides, I doubt the emperor will come tonight."

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Sasuke had felt a bit guilty summoning Tanaka's daughter to court. He had long heard the girl was of a weak constitution since her youth, but this decision was absolutely necessary. It wouldn't do to oppose Orochimaru directly, especially when his own mother had somehow been poisoned against him. With these thoughts in mind, Sasuke strolled towards the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring.

And for the first time in his life, Sasuke - ever confident Sasuke - _hesitated_.

What a strange greeting, or rather, the lack thereof. Nobody has heralded his presence even though he has long crossed the gates that separated the Pavilion from the rest of the palace. Normally, a servant would have announced his presence while another went to inform his master who would then undoubtedly come to greet him with warm smiles, pleasing words, and many cups of sake. After all, it was extraordinarily rare of him to visit any of his concubines or even step into the rear palace. His presence was viewed as a godsend, and the girls were more than ready to please him or coax him to a drunken stupor so that he might take them to bed.

_Apparently not this one. _Sasuke mused to himself. If the girl hadn't garnered his interest before, she certainly had now with this unique greeting.

As a matter of fact, not only was there not a proper announcement, there was nobody in sight at all, and only a sparse few lanterns were lit. They illuminated the path well enough, but the lighting could hardly compare to the rest of the palace.

Maybe he was at the wrong place. That must be it. This place looked too rundown anyways, hardly fitting for someone like Tanaka's daughter.

"Are you sure this is where Tanaka's daughter resides?" Sasuke decided to make sure.

"Positive, your highness." Jūgo, his personal guard replied, although he looked somewhat perplexed as well.

Sasuke sent him a look, and Jūgo took the silent command to further investigate the place. It didn't take him long to report back.

"Your highness, it appears that everyone has retired for the night." Jūgo paused for a moment when Sasuke made no reply. "Should we head back then?"

"Wait here." Sasuke commanded before walking towards the back gardens.

He really doesn't know what compelled him to move towards the old storage room. It was one of the most obscure forgotten places in the entire palace, but he swore he felt a flicker of _something _in the room. It was no surprise then to see dim candlelight illuminating the window panes of the room.

Who would be in there so late at night?

Sasuke promptly pushed the doors open, heading towards the source of the flickering light far back in the room.

Sakura became alert immediately when she heard the old doors creak, her hands clutching the book she was reading tightly. Who could it be? Ino and the others had retired hours ago, and they would have announced themselves were they the ones to come in here. Her back straightened painfully, defensive mechanisms overcoming all her senses as she turned her head towards the incoming footsteps.

Piercing onyx orbs met jaded green ones.

Both stood rooted to the spot, unable to drive their gazes away.

Sakura inwardly berated herself for her miscalculation. The tension between Sasuke and Orochimaru must have been worse than she thought for Sasuke to visit her tonight. Sakura has no doubt that the man who stood in front of her right now is the Uchiha Sasuke, the current reigning emperor. Even without his telling wardrobe, customized with the royal sign of the uchiwa fan, everything about him spelled royalty. The way he holds himself, his regal countenance, and the air about him left her with no doubt.

To her chagrin, Sakura realized Ino had most definitely been wrong about his sexual orientation. There is something undeniably masculine about him. Perhaps it was his domineering presence, or perhaps his dark, smoldering eyes, or maybe it was his straight nose and strong jaw lines … What was she _thinking? _She mentally slapped herself. This is no time to feel attraction. She should stay as far away from him and plan if she wants to survive this whole ordeal in one piece. Sakura forced herself to break their gazes before bowing her head and performing the customary greetings.

"Your highness."

Keeping her head bowed, a small blush graced her cheeks as she realized how inappropriate this whole situation is. She was hardly dressed with only the white, inner most layer of her clothing, having shed the many layers of beautiful silk earlier in the night. If only she had the insight to know he was coming tonight…

Sasuke was stunned when he first saw her, his heart beating rapidly against his ribcage. She was ethereal, clad in practically only her nightgown with the gentle candlelight illuminating her face. Her almond-shaped eyes seemed to glow, and he could easily see the various emotions running through them. He suddenly had the strange urge to run his hands through her soft, pink locks which trailed all the way to the small of her back, but he quickly quenched the desire. It was most inappropriate of him to give into such vices.

He had also found her reactions strangely amusing. The girl had stared back at him intently in the beginning, unable to turn her gaze away. And then, as if she just realized what she was doing without even having given him a proper greeting, she bowed gracefully, kneeling slightly and folding her hands by her lower right side.

And now she was still bowed slightly, but he could see the slight blush that painted her cheeks. He wondered why for a moment.

"What is your name?" Sasuke asked her. It felt strange to continuously refer to her as Tanaka's daughter.

"TenTen, your highness."

TenTen. Her name signifies the heavens, and Sasuke decided it was a suitable name for her. Her presence was otherworldly to him, almost like a goddess who had mistakenly wandered down to earth when he first set eyes on her. Although, he couldn't help but think that Sakura would be an even better name for her. She certainly has the hair to match.

Sasuke took several steps towards her until he was right next to her. He felt her tense up almost immediately as she went back to staring at him intently, but he ignored her reactions. Gently, he took the book she was perusing before he came out of her hands.

A jolt of electricity ran through both of them as their hands brushed against each other. Sakura blushed again at the foreign sensation and quickly shifted her eyes to somewhere other than his face. Sasuke felt inexplicable pleasure seeing that she was so affected by him, but kept a calm demeanor as he inspected the book.

_Mastering Life and Death Situations_. Sasuke raised one elegant eyebrow at the title. How strange of her to be reading a Go book of all things. He didn't know many girls who could read or even liked to read, and even fewer who are interested in a game like go. How completely intriguing.

"Would you like a game?" Sakura offered, sensing that Sasuke has no intention of leaving for the night. Better steer him into a battle over the boards than try her luck with him in bed.

Sasuke tilted his head slightly to give her an almost imperceptible nod.

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Reviews will be very much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Ah... yes... If I owned Naruto, Sakura would actually _do_ something (useful) other than... wait, what is she doing nowadays again? Right. Nothing.

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It was nearly morning the next day when Sasuke finished his last game of Go with Sakura. He was completely enthralled in all three games that he had played with her. It was invigorating, battling it out on the board.

Sasuke realized that despite Sakura's demure appearance, she was _cunning_, and her Go reflected that. She liked to set traps, placing innocuous stones in the beginning, almost as if she had made a mistake, only to somehow incorporate those 'mistakes' into devastating traps that he's hard pressed to get out of. Her mind was sharp, and she relentlessly took advantage of even the smallest mistakes he made.

Doubtlessly, it was three of the most interesting games he had played in awhile.

It was also three of the most unsatisfying games he had played in his life.

He had won all three games. And in all honestly, Sasuke was used to people losing to him. For the most part, they were afraid to one up him since he's the emperor. And for the vast majority of them - actually, all of them with the exception of Shikamaru, his head tactician – it's not something they need to work very hard to achieve. They simply don't have the skills to beat him in the first case. But it was different with her. He had won all three games by _exactly_ half a moku no matter what he did. It was obvious that she was _toying_ with him, that she had planned to _let_ him win (but only by the bare minimum), and it _frustrated_ him to no end.

As he stared at her, Sasuke is also starting to dislike the smile she kept on her face. After her initial awkwardness with him, she had kept on an unerring smile. It was deceptive just like her Go and a constant reminder that she's _toying_ with him. He wanted to see the real her.

"We will play again next time." Sasuke stated, getting ready to depart.

"Yes, your highness." Sakura promptly got up to follow him towards the gates of the pavilion before bowing respectively.

Sasuke spared her one last glance before leaving her residence. Jūgo came up to greet him, and Sasuke felt slightly guilty for having the man wait for him all night.

As she stared at the retreating forms of the two men, Sakura couldn't help but give herself a pat in the back for a job well.

_First night, down!_

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"He was here last night?" Ino practically shrieked when Sakura told her Sasuke had spent the night and had just left mere hours ago.

"Yes."

"But I thought you said… Did he…" Ino paused, unsure of how to ask the question.

"What? Oh, _oh no. _Of course not!" Sakura immediately replied once she realized Ino had been asking if they slept together. "We just played Go together."

Ino raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "For the _whole night?_"

Sakura nodded in affirmation.

"That _proves _it!" Ino exclaimed excitedly.

"Proves what?" Sakura asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"That he's gay! He spent a whole night with you playing _Go _of all things when you were practically in your nightwear. Any _normal_ man would've done _it_." There was no question what 'it' was. Whatever concern Ino had for her in the beginning has clearly gone out the window.

Sakura decided it would hardly be worth the effort to correct her otherwise. Ino seems most infatuated with the fantasy that's going on in her head.

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For the next three days, Sasuke hadn't made an appearance, and Sakura spent her days tending to her garden or reading the books she took from the storage room. All in all, it was a peaceful three days until the Empress Dowager summoned Sakura.

Sakura had expected it for awhile now and was slightly surprised that the Empress Dowager had even waited this long before summoning her. The news that the stoic emperor had spent a whole night at the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring had spread like wildfire around the palace. Ino had dutifully relayed to her the vast array of speculations surrounding the issue. Most of them were so horribly exaggerated that Sakura doesn't quite know what to make of them. No doubt the Empress Dowager had heard her own share of these ridiculous rumors.

'_However, _this_ is getting downright ridiculous.'_ Sakura thought to herself. She had been kneeling at the same spot on this cold, hard floor for hours, and her knees are killing her. Sakura knew the Empress Dowager is going to exercise her authority to put her into place, but this is the oldest trick in the book. These palace people are so utterly unimaginative.

"The Empress Dowager will be with you shortly. She's just finished her bath and is getting dressed." An eunuch came to inform Sakura.

Sakura smiled back demurely and gave him a small nod while Inner Sakura raged a storm within her. _The old HAG! She's the one who summoned us! Now she's acting all _surprised_ that we came like she _wanted? _How long does it take her to bathe anyways?_

After another thirty minutes of waiting, the Empress Dowager finally came out. Sakura kowtowed immediately from her position on the floor. "Your highness, may you live a thousand years."

"Rise." Mikoto permitted, taking some time to look at the girl. The eunuch had been right, she is quite the looker. No wonder even her stoic son had been tempted and spent the night with her.

Ino came to help Sakura up, the poor girl stumbling slightly after kneeling for so long.

"You have quite the little attitude, don't you? When do you plan to see me if I haven't personally invited you?" Mikoto drawled distastefully.

It was hardly a 'personal invitation', but Sakura instantly went down for another kowtow even when her knees complained vociferously. Better play it safe. "Your highness, please forgive me if I have stepped out of line. I'm new and am not yet familiar with all the rules of the palace yet."

Mikoto sipped some of her tea. The girl had answered adequately and doesn't appear to have much of a spine. Good.

"I heard Sasuke had visited you several days ago." Mikoto continued calmly, changing the topic completely.

"Yes, your highness."

_Bam._

Mikoto slammed down her hand forcefully onto the table, and immediately, everyone in the room went down into a bow. "You're merely a concubine. Know your place."

"Your highness, I wouldn't dare." Sakura replied, shaking slightly on purpose. "I'm afraid my body can't handle it even if…" Sakura trailed off.

The servants in the room all shot each other disbelieving looks under their bowed heads, and Mikoto could hardly keep her face straight.

That was… quite a revelation. Mikoto had known that Tanaka's daughter had been a sickly child, but she had no idea the girl was so sick that she can't even… Mikoto mentally shook her head. It doesn't seem the girl would pose a threat after all. And if she had been planning anything, surely the scare she just received would serve more than an adequate enough warning.

"You may go." Mikoto finally dismissed her.

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Sakura wondered if she had unwittingly upset some god up there because lady luck is certainly not with her today.

Of all the people she could have ran into after her ordeal with the Empress Dowager, she ran into _Karin_. She couldn't have fought them off even if she wanted to, as Karin had at least seven guards trailing behind her while she only had Ino. Sakura sighed as she resigned herself to her fate.

Before Sakura could even get out a greeting, Karin had slapped her right across the face, her eyes livid with anger.

"This is just a warning, TenTen Tanaka. Stay _away_ from Sasuke-sama. He's mine." Karin snapped at her before walking straight ahead, her long red hair whipping furiously behind her.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Ino whispered worriedly once Karin and her group of people are out of hearing distance. That Karin sure slaps hard. The handprint looks completely imprinted on Sakura's skin.

"I'll be fine." Sakura replied, rubbing her face tenderly. "I'm just glad I took TenTen's place…"

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"Argh! I'm just so frustrated! It's not fair! Why should we take this lying down?" Ino complained on Sakura's behalf.

"Ino," Sakura half exasperated shook her head. "Would you just hold the ladder steady? I swear I'm about to fall from an early death here before Karin or the Empress Dowager even need to dirty their hands. My knees are still weak you know?"

"Sorry," Ino immediately steadied the creaky ladder. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. It's not going to kill me anytime soon, just a slap and some acquaintance with the floor." Sakura replied flippantly. "They're not very creative, are they?"

"Would you stop shrugging it off? Yes, the methods are uncreative, but they're _effective_. Your cheek is still swollen isn't it?"

Sakura's hand involuntarily left the book she was flipping to touch her cheek. It is indeed still swollen, but she had already applied some medicine on there. It should be completely healed no later than tomorrow.

"I know!" Ino suddenly exclaimed. "We should make a spectacular comeback!"

"A spectacular comeback?" Sakura asked. "How do you propose we do that?"

Ino smirked evilly. "Well, the emperor _is _the most powerful person around, and he _did_ spend a whole night with you. Granted, he might not like you like _that_, but he must have some sort of good feelings towards you. You can so totally tell him and let him take revenge for you!"

"In case you've forgotten, I want to stay as far away from the emperor as possible." Sakura replied, flipping through a new book she just retrieved from the top shelf. "Besides, what's the point of telling him? What good can he do?"

"I can't do anything?" A deep voice resonated from the doorway.

"Your highness!" Ino was completely shocked by the new presence and hurriedly knelt down to give him a proper greeting. Unfortunately for Sakura, Ino accidentally shifted the ladder in her haste.

'_The gods must have it in for me today.' _Sakura thought to herself as she felt herself lose her footing. For the third time in one day, catastrophe is about to befall her. Sakura closed her eyes and readied herself for the impact she's going to make with the floor.

It never came.

Instead, a pair of strong arms enveloped her body, and she felt herself pressed into Sasuke's chest. Sakura tentatively opened her eyes and looked up at him. It reminded her vaguely of how she first met him and a blush graced her face. How come she always ends up in such embarrassing situations with him? He's so close that she could practically hear his heart beat.

"Let me go." Sakura demanded before her mind could wander elsewhere. She didn't even give him a chance to react as she promptly shoved herself out of his grasp and glared at him.

Sasuke frowned slightly as the warmth in his grasp promptly disappeared.

After meeting her three days ago, he found she was different from the other girls he had met before. But he had been wary. He'd known many girls who plotted their way around him, so Sasuke had deigned to visit her at all after that night, acting as if nothing had happened at all. He wanted to see how she would react, but all was peaceful at the pavilion, and the girl went about her days also acting like the night hadn't happened either. Instead, it was his own mother who couldn't handle the silence and had summoned her instead. After that, Sakura's declaration of 'I'm afraid my body can't handle it' as well as her encounter with Karin had become the hottest new gossip around the palace. Hot enough that even _he _heard of it - and that's saying something because most people don't seem to be able to _breathe_ properly around him, being intimidated by his presence. So in the end, Sasuke couldn't help himself but visit her out of worry.

He _wasn't_ sneaking. Nor did he _mean _to overhear the entirety of their conversation. He was simply on the right time at the right place. Kind of. The two girls had been so into their conversation that he decided to get the undiluted versions of the stories before he made his presence known.

He frowned deeply when she uncaringly brushed off his mother's punishment and Karin's slap. Didn't the girl have any self preservation? She didn't even _sound_ like a victim. He frowned even deeper when he heard the servant girl, Ino, imply he was gay. But when Sakura said 'what good can he do', Sasuke simply couldn't keep his presence hidden anymore, his male pride having taken a rather hard blow.

When he saw her falling from the ladder, his heart almost jumped out of his throat before his finely tuned instincts took over and he rushed to catch her in his arms. She had been surprisingly light, and her small frame fitted perfectly in his arms. Sasuke unconsciously pulled her closer to him, reveling in the feeling of her soft, pliant body, her sweet scent enveloping him. It ended all too soon though when she suddenly pulled away from him, and to his amusement, _glared _at him.

"How long have you been here?" Sakura demanded.

"Is this how you speak to the person who saved your life?" Sasuke rebutted without missing a beat, purposefully not answering her question.

"I don't think someone who _sneaks_ around _eavesdropping_ on other people can be considered a savior." Sakura snapped back.

Ino couldn't help but think Sakura has a death wish. '_Even then_,' Ino muttered to herself, '_there are better ways to go about it than to incur Sasuke's wrath_.'

"From the very beginning." Sasuke secretly wanted to smile but kept a completely straight face. So this is the _real_ her.

"Eh?"

"I heard the whole thing from the very beginning." Sasuke clarified. "I've answered your question; now it's time for you to answer mine. Is there no use in telling me?"

Sakura was mad that he had the audacity to eavesdrop on the entire conversation, emperor or not. But then again, this could work very well to her favor. It would be risky and not necessarily how she planned it, but this would be an opportunity that is unlikely to come again.

"We're both smart, logical people, so I won't beat around the bush with you." Sakura started. "How about we make a deal?"

The look in Sasuke's eyes told her to continue.

"I will play this little act with you so you can establish your authority and stabilize Orochimaru's forces." Sakura propose. "In return, you will promise not to touch me and allow me to go home when the whole affair is done."

Ino immediately shut the door upon hearing those words. Discretion is obviously not in Sakura's dictionary. So this is what Sakura had been planning. It wasn't a half bad plan if you can get over the fact that making a pact with Sasuke is almost on an equivalent basis of making a pact with the devil.

"Why those conditions?" Sasuke asked.

"I have my own reasons." Sakura replied easily.

"Deal."

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Sasuke was not one to waste time.

For all intent and purpose other than actually sleeping at the pavilion, Sasuke had moved over. He visited Sakura without fail every day, going so far as to bring all of his paperwork with him instead of staying late into the night at his study to finish – which was never heard of before.

Jūgo had given him a particularly questioning look, but had decided to not ask any questions, and Sasuke was more than thankful as he was not particularly keen on divulging the details of his peculiar actions. It was one of the reasons that he had selected the man as his personal guard. Jūgo knew when to keep his silence which was more than what he could say for some of his _other _acquaintances.

Truth be told, Sasuke greatly enjoys this new development. Spending time with Sakura was easy. She didn't expect him to shower her with attention. She didn't blabber about nonsense. And to his slight - just _slight_ mind you - disappointment, she didn't relentlessly push him to bed her.

Instead, their days were spent in relative peace. He would work on his papers, and she would read diligently, occasionally sharing something she found interesting. And what a great many things she read. Sakura seems to devour books, taking in anything that ranged from the arts and philosophy to martial arts and politics.

Sasuke also found that Sakura has a very developed medical knowledge.

It was a few days ago. He was feeling a bit under the weather and could feel the beginnings of a nasty headache. He wasn't sure how she had found out because his face was completely blank, but she had. Sakura had left him for a few hours and came back with what appeared to be a bowl of simmering hot soup.

"It's not poison you know?" Sakura glared at him when he hesitated. "I even put tomatoes in there for you, so drink up."

And indeed, there were quite a bit of diced tomatoes floating around.

"What is this exactly?" Sasuke asked.

"It's medicine, but I promise it won't taste bitter. You seem to be a bit under the weather, so I thought…" Sakura blushed lightly. "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to."

Sasuke reached over to stop Sakura's retreating hands.

"You made this?" Sasuke prodded.

Sakura nodded.

"For me?" Sasuke prodded some more.

Sakura blushed so hotly that her ears turned read. "Do you want it or not? I could always give it to Ino-pig, you know. She's been complaining about her headache the whole morning."

Having adequately embarrassed her, Sasuke let out a satisfied smirk, possessiveness taking over. "Absolutely not. You shall do no such thing. You made this for me."

With that said, he greedily took a big gulp of the medicine. True to her words, it didn't taste bitter at all. As a matter of fact, it tasted pretty good, not like medicine at all.

Sasuke continued to sip at the medicine, reveling in the feeling of the hot soup warming his body. But it wasn't the only warmth he felt. He couldn't remember anyone taking the time to personally make him anything before. There were always cooks and servants to fulfill such menial labor, but Sakura had made this for him. For _him_. For _him_ and _only him. _His heart warmed. _She even put tomatoes in there. _His heart warmed even further at the thought. _And nobody asked her to do any of it either. She did it of her own volition. _

Even though he felt completely energized after taking the medicine, Sasuke found it near impossible to concentrate on any of his paperwork afterwards.

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AN: A great big thanks to all of you who reviewed! You guys have no idea how happy they made me. =)

Aaaaand it would make me even happier if you drop another review here Hehe. Stay tuned for next time!


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would've seriously taken years and years to kill Itachi. It was so conflicting... On one hand, I wanted him to live, on the other, his death had such a big _impact. _Then again Sasuke did turn rather stupid afterwards, but that's a whole other story...

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It wasn't long before Sakura was known around the palace as the 'Emperor's most favored concubine' – a greatly coveted title – and with it, came a flurry of 'visitors'.

Sakura had found it amusing when she first realized several pairs of eyes silently observing her interactions with Sasuke. It didn't take her long to realize they were probably sent by neglected concubines to see how exactly she had managed to bind the elusive emperor completely and exclusively to herself.

Pity they would never find out.

Every day, they observed her read while Sasuke worked diligently on his many paper works. Then at night, they would hear the _pachi-pachi_ sound of Go stones hitting the board before the emperor went back to retire for the night. All in all, it was monotonous and utterly predictable, and as far as they could tell, this new concubine had done nothing special at all to keep the emperor by her side. So eventually, several pairs of eyes dwindled down to a few, and a few became none at all in a matter of days.

_-Pachi-_

_-Pachi-_

_-Pachi-_

"Thank you for the game." Sakura bowed slightly before reaching out to clear the board. Once again, Sasuke had won. By half a moku.

"Aren't you tired of this?" Sasuke demanded.

Sakura looked up at him, blinking innocently as if she had no idea what he could be talking about. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I don't want you to purposefully lose to me. Play at your full potential."

"…If you insist." _It's not my problem if you want to be pummeled to the ground. _Sakura inwardly smirked to herself.

-_Pachi-_

Two hours later, Sakura stared incredulously at the pattern on the board, replaying the moves in her mind. She had played to the best of her abilities and had lost by a whole moku. _But... but… how did that happen?_ She had gauged Sasuke's abilities from day one and knew all his tendencies. He was more likely to attack than defend. He was cautious and calculating but wouldn't mind taking a little risk to get the power he needed. He was aggressive and allowed for sacrifices as long as it all worked into the bigger picture he had planned. He was… He was… He was _deceiving her_.

"Saaaasuukeeeee…" Sakura drawled out his name, whining rather pitifully. "You're such a sneak! You've been hiding your true strength all along!"

Receiving no answer from Sasuke at all, Sakura "hmphed" at him only to realize he was smiling at her. She pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. Sasuke – my facial nerve endings have died, _Sasuke _– is _smiling_ at her.

"Let's play another game, TenTen."

"Okay…" Sakura replied automatically, too dazed at the smile he had just given her.

Wait. Sakura did another double take for the night. Had Sasuke just called her TenTen with no honorifics attached? And then she realized she had carelessly called him Sasuke instead of the usual 'your highness' or 'Sasuke-sama' in her moment of shock. _So that's why he was smiling at me…_

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Sakura is certainly worth her grain of salt. Despite what she may believe, Sasuke hadn't hidden his own strength against her. Although he would never admit it to her, Sasuke had fully expected to lose and had been genuinely surprised to have won instead. He supposed it made sense though. All those games that they had played together must have inadvertently sharpened his skills more than he realized.

They played many games afterwards, each winning and losing some. The current game they're in though had turned into a stalemate, both forces unyielding.

Sasuke had thought hard about his next move for at least a good ten minutes before placing the stone resolutely on the board, only to be met with silence.

"TenTen." Sasuke called out softly, but she was dead to the world.

Sakura had fallen asleep with her head resting gently on one hand.

It was the first time Sasuke had seen her without any defenses. She seems so serene, so angelic, and so very fragile in her sleep. Sasuke silently reached over, careful not to wake her, and ran his hands gently through her long, soft pink hair like he had wanted to the first time he met her. She must've been exhausted, staying up almost every night to play Go with him.

Sasuke called in Ino to help situate Sakura on the bed.

"Ano… Your highness…" Ino ventured tentatively, seeing Sasuke taking off the outer layers of his clothing. "Are you..."

"I promised not to touch her." Sasuke replied Ino's unfinished question and promptly dismissed her.

After tucking in the blankets around Sakura, Sasuke laid down next to her, simply watching her. It was strangely comforting as he traced the contours of her face. And with the rhythmic lull of her breathing as his serenade, Sasuke eventually closed his eyes too, falling into a peaceful sleep.

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Ino hadn't had a night of decent sleep since Sakura made the 'deal' with Sasuke. It was more of an ultimatum in her opinion. In any case, as Sakura's personal hand maid, it was her duty to wait on Sakura every night to help her undress and prepare for bed. It was a simple enough job, but Sasuke had _really _taken a liking to these late night Go games, and so her bedtime had gotten later and later. This lack of beauty sleep is doing nothing for her skin, and she swore dark circles are permanently etched around her eyes nowadays.

And last night, she had been called in to help an already asleep Sakura to bed, and Sasuke had every intention to join her.

There was only one conclusion that Ino made.

Sasuke was _not _gay despite what she had _previously _believed (it became especially obvious after she saw the looks he gives Sakura when he _thinks_ that nobody is looking), and in a moment of heated passion and desire, he had decided to wantonly ravish Sakura despite the deal they made. The scenarios that rushed through her head from this new development is almost worthy of being penned by the elusive author of the famous Icha-Icha Series himself.

She felt slightly disappointed when Sasuke assured her that he has enough integrity to keep his promise. Pity. It would've made life more interesting.

When Sasuke departed in the morning, she had followed him, respectfully accompanying him out and trying to decipher what had happened the night before with no avail. She would have better luck deciphering the inner workings of a rock.

Instead, she busted into Sakura's room and demanded if anything had happened.

"What?" Came Sakura's disgruntled reply as she groggily drew herself up from the warm comforts of her bed. "Sasuke spent the night here with me?"

"You fell asleep during your game, and he called me in to help you change and all. But, judging by your reaction, I'll take that as a no, nothing happened."

It took Sakura several blinks to digest the information before a sly look slipped on her face. "I see Sasuke-kun's self control is pretty good to withstand my temptation, eh?" Sakura joked.

Ino rolled her eyes in response. "Oh spare me."

It appears that Sasuke is indeed a man of his words.

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That night Sakura voluntarily suggested they 'sleep' together.

Sasuke had been surprised at her proposition. He originally thought she would have been mad at him, or at the very least, slightly upset. But he had long learned that it would be futile to try to understand how Sakura's brain worked.

"Ne, are you embarrassed, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura teased. "You slept here with me yesterday, didn't you? Or are you…" Sakura trailed off, knowing Sasuke would be frustrated at the implied jab at his pride.

"If you so desire, I would not be one to object." Sasuke rose up to the challenge, a sense of satisfaction filled him when he saw Sakura's smile tensed the tiniest bit.

Having adequately ruffled Sakura's feathers once again, Sasuke strode to the bed and lied down, turning completely away from Sakura. Granted, last night passed by peacefully, but even he can't guarantee that he wouldn't do anything rash if he had to face her angelic face every night. He swore even a god would be tempted by her.

It took about all of thirty minutes for Sasuke to completely regret his decision to stay with her.

The little devil had pressed herself onto his back. He knew it was an automatic response; she was just seeking the warmth another body provided - but he could _feel_ her even underneath the layers of clothing that separated them. Not that it was unpleasant, of course, but that was the problem. It felt all _too _pleasant. All he wanted to do was to turn around and embrace her, but he _couldn't _because he knew he wouldn't be able to just stop there should he started.

Sasuke sighed deeply as he resigned to his fate. It was going to be a long night.

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It was about half a month into their daily routine that Sakura had gotten completely and utterly bored.

She hadn't stepped out of her new dwelling place since she had first set foot there, and as interesting as she found those books, they're doing a horrid job of keeping her attention more than thirty minutes these days. Sakura had decided to get started on that garden, but really, there are only so many times that you can water the plants before drowning them to an early death.

It was high time for some _change_.

Her opportunity came when she saw an eunuch bringing in another set of scrolls for Sasuke to review. Sakura gave him a dazzling smile as she reached over to take the small mountain of scrolls from him.

"It must be tiring," Sakura coddled. "For you to transport so many scrolls here every day."

The servant blushed ever so slightly before replying that it was his honor to be of service.

"Ne, ne, Sasuke-kun," She had long dropped the title of 'your highness' and decided that Sasuke-_kun_ suits him much better. "Why don't we go to your study instead? It is much easier for us to walk over there than for Soujou-san to bring all these scrolls here by himself."

Sasuke would've snorted if it wasn't so unbecoming of someone of his stature. "Don't find excuses." Sasuke replied, knowing exactly what she was planning the moment she opened her mouth. "You just want to go yourself."

"Hehe." Sakura grinned cheekily even though she was caught red handed in her scheming.

"Very well, we will go tomorrow." Sasuke decided to indulge her.

"Really?" Sakura exclaimed happily. "That's a _promise. _No backing out of it, you hear me?"

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Sakura could only marvel at the grandiose study.

An ornate desk and a large comfortable chair that could almost serve as a bed were directly visible upon entry. Brushes, arranged by size, neatly hanged on a calligraphy brush holder by the right side of the table, and the scrolls that needed to be reviewed were set on the left side of the table.

The east wing of the study is filled with beautifully bound books, the sheer quantity of which put the storage room behind the pavilion to shame. The west wing was a vast expanse of empty space, but judging by the mat on the floor and the "道" written on the drapery with two broken katanas crossing each other on the wall, Sakura deduced it's where Sasuke practiced basic katas. And all around them, intricate pottery work and masterfully crafted weapons lined the walls.

"What's supposed to be there?" Sakura's eyes lingered on the empty sword hanger rack right beneath the drapery. She could literally feel Sasuke tense minutely beside her.

"TenTen, do you know what the Sharingan is?" Sasuke finally let out after a moment of silence.

The Sharingan is a powerful kekkei genkai privy to the Uchiha's. History books had accredited this technique for being one of the primary reasons that the Uchihas came to power. Sakura distinctly remembered this one time where Neji-Ni-sama had shown her the Byakugan and compared it with the Sharingan.

"It's a dojutsu similar to the Byakugan." Sakura summarized simply.

"Yes. The Sharingan is a valuable tool in battle. A well trained Sharingan grants us the ability to see the flow of chakra, an incredible clarity of perception, as well as the ability to memorize almost any technique we witness. We're also able to cast a unique brand of hypnosis and easily dispel genjutsu.

"Of course, you already know all this. You've probably read about it somewhere, but what is not written is the ultimate technique used in combination with the Sharingan - the Mangekyō.

"That is what's missing from the stand."

"So, the Mangekyō is a weapon used in conjunction with the Sharingan?" Sakura questioned.

"It's a pair of katana." Sasuke replied. "Legends state that gaining the Mangekyō is equivalent to gaining the world. It's supposed to be the ultimate offense and defense. You will never lose a battle with it."

"Don't think too much about it." Sasuke continued upon seeing the thoughtful look on Sakura's face. "They're merely legends. The katanas are a masterpiece, but they're still pieces of metal in the end. Their usefulness is greatly exaggerated."

"But where is it now?" Sakura couldn't help but ask.

"Itachi took them with him when he disappeared."

Sasuke answered with such finality that Sakura knew it was the end of their conversation concerning this matter. It really led to more questions than answers though. Who is Itachi? Why did he take the Mangekyō in the first place? And are those things concerning the Mangekyō really just merely legends like Sasuke said? Something didn't seem to fit in Sakura's mind, but she knew now is not the time to voice her opinion.

"Teme!" A loud and rather obnoxious voice boomed followed by a kick that sprung the doors unceremoniously open. "I haven't seen you in _ages!_"

Sakura turned around to see a pair of baby blue eyes blinking back at her.

"Who are you?" The man demanded, completely diverting his attention from Sasuke to the girl he'd never seen before.

"Who do you think I am?" Sakura replied back while mischievously slipping her arms around Sasuke's.

To her surprise, the man walked straight up to her, clearly intruding on her little bubble of personal space, and… _sniffed _her.

"Oi, get away from her, Dobe." Sasuke immediately placed himself between Sakura and the outstretched nose.

The man looked back and forth between the two, and Sakura could swear a light bulb went off in his head. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto at your service!" The hyperactive blond exclaimed. "And _you_ must be Tanaka's daughter, TenTen. I've heard so much about you!"

"Have you now?" Sakura asked, her interest piqued.

"Oh yeah! You have _no _idea."

"Naruto…" Sasuke hoped beyond hope Naruto would pick up on his warning to not say something _stupid_.

Which of course fell to deaf ears.

"You're the hottest new gossip around!" Naruto continued without reservation. "It was all anybody could talk about when Sasuke spent that whole night with you when you first arrived here. I mean, c'mon, he's like a freakin' ice cube. There were some serious concerns whether he could get it up, and I tell you some people lost _big_ on the betting pool."

"Naruto…." Sasuke warned again.

"Then when you declared 'your body couldn't handle it' a month back, it totally knocked the old bat -"

"_Naruto,_" Sasuke snapped. "Don't insult my mother."

"– off her rockers. And then the Karin bitch-slap business was hilarious as _hell_. And the – "

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded. He thanked whatever god is up there that Naruto has the attention span of a fly and could be easily distracted.

"Oh, uh…" Naruto scrunched up his nose in thought, a hand running through his messy blond hair. _What was he here for again? Oh right. _"You," He jabbed a finger on Sasuke's chest. "Have been skimping out on me! You even set Jūgo on me to keep me away! Just because you have TenTen-chan now – by the way, you smell really good – " Naruto directed that part to Sakura. "Doesn't mean you can miss our practice sessions. Do you have any idea what I have to deal with while Kakashi-sensei read that perverted book of his?"

"Hn."

"That's it!" Sasuke's noncommittal response sparked a fire in Naruto. "We're settling this _now. _I've wanted to pound your face into the ground for awhile now!"

"No. I'm busy." Sasuke replied calmly. "And you wouldn't be able to even if you tried."

"_What?_" Naruto spluttered. Sasuke never rejects his challenges, especially since they haven't had real action in close to three weeks. "Oh, _I _see how this is. You're afraid to lose face in front of TenTen-chan. Well, this is a valid concern." Naruto prodded in a rather uncharacteristic show of craftiness. If he knows Sasuke – and he _does_ mind you – Sasuke wouldn't back out of this now that his pride is on the line. "After all, we don't want to ruin your pretty little face since we all know _I'm _going to pummel it to the ground. Wise choice there, Teme, wise choice."

Sakura watched the dealings between the two with amusement, her previous concern over the missing Mangekyō completely forgotten. She could practically feel Sasuke bristling after Naruto's last comment. Sakura decided she must take some notes from Naruto; he seems to know exactly how to push Sasuke's buttons to make him explode.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura decided to help Naruto along. "Naruto's right. You really shouldn't push yourself if you -"

"_Fine." _Sasuke finally cracked, not wanting to hear the rest of Sakura's sentence, knowing it would only hurt his pride more. "Meet me at the training ground in ten minutes. I'm getting changed. You better prepare yourself, _Dobe._"

Naruto let out a triumphant _whoop_, and Sakura winked at him conspiratorially.

It's the beginning of a new wonderful friendship.

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AN: Dear readers, you have no idea how much I appreciate you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you all for the reviews.

I am sad to say that Spring Break is over for me, hence I will be updating at a slower pace. Worry not! I will not abandon the story. I actually have the plot all lined out, it's just that I need to write it (Ah details, details...), and I'm a particularly slow writer partially because I have problems concentrating. I write one paragraph, and my brain is already diverted to something else... that's probably why the flow isn't very good.

In any case, I would appreciate y'all lots if you leave a review =)


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The usual...

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When Naruto came and demanded a match against Sasuke, Sakura had thought they were going to engage in a _friendly _spar, but frankly, they just look like they're trying to beat the living daylights out of each other. As Sasuke aimed a particularly vicious blow to Naruto's head, Sakura couldn't help but wince in pain on his behalf.

It was completely different from what she had witnessed before.

When she watched Neji spar back when she was a child, it was like an intricate dance. His actions were calculated and precise, aiming for specific places on the body that could render his opponents helpless in one strike. With Sasuke and Naruto, it was primarily about speed with a dash of strength. They moved so fast that she could hardly follow their movements.

Sakura's interest piqued as Naruto gathered a bluish energy around his hands, immediately recognizing it as the visible form of his chakra. Now that was an interesting subject. Sakura had spent many nights pouring over scrolls to understand this peculiar energy. Simply put, chakra can be thought of as the manifestation of one's inner energy – both physical and spiritual. Every living being produces chakra naturally to varying degrees, and chakra can be molded to fulfill many purposes.

Sakura could still clearly remember the awe she felt when she saw Neji walking on top of still waters when she was merely ten years old. He had patiently explained to her that he had simply focused his chakra on his feet and had even taught her how to draw forth her own chakra. According to Neji, she has a particularly good chakra control.

Later, she had learned that dojutsus like the Byakugan and the Sharingan also depended heavily on chakra manipulation. As a matter of fact, chakra is the foundation for any type of jutsu. Medical jutsu is no exception. It's actually a fairly new use for chakra, still being developed and researched by doctors in all the countries, not at all accessible to normal civilians. It's Sakura's main research under Tsunade, as she is one of the few people who have both a mastery of medical knowledge and a fairly good understanding of basic chakra manipulation.

In her opinion, chakra isn't all that different from the concept of _Qi, _literally meaning 'breath' or 'air'. _Qi _is the life energy and more importantly, the energy flow of the whole world: it's how the world as a whole interacts. From the medical perspective, a balance must be achieved in the body for good health as various illnesses are caused by disrupted or blocked _Qi _movement through the body's meridians (which can be thought of chakra channels).

Short term treatment using chakra can be thought of as using one's energy to stimulate one's own innate healing properties. Long term treatment using chakra is more complicated. Although chakra is used to promote quicker healing, there is also the added purpose of using the force of chakra to maintain balance in one's body.

Sakura's thoughts began to stray to TenTen's sickness instead of the fight in front of her as she considered a possible new treatment using a combination of chakra and herbs… but she would need to build up her own chakra reserve. If TenTen could develop her chakra, then she could keep her body in balance instead of gradual deterioration. And during treatments, she can guide TenTen's chakra instead of being completely depended on her own…

Meanwhile, Naruto is hard pressed to meet Sasuke's blows. For some inexplicable reason, Sasuke seems really _intense_, for lack of a better word. Sparring with Sasuke is never a walk in the park, but today, Sasuke is pulling out all stops to win. Naruto snickered in recognition when he finally realized the reason behind Sasuke's new edge.

'_His pride won't allow him to lose in front of TenTen-chan!'_

Taking advantage of Naruto's one moment of distraction, Sasuke finally pinned him to the ground, effectively ending the spar.

"TenTen-chaaaaannn," Naruto wailed in a particularly loud voice when Sasuke got off of him.

"Aw, you poor thing." Sakura went over to help him into a sitting position, finally coming out of her reverie.

"It hurts over here." Naruto pointed at his slightly bruising cheek. "Would you kiss the pain away?" He asked cheekily, taking advantage of the opportunity. They don't live in the ice ages anymore - winning the fight doesn't equate with getting the girl. Naruto snickered deviously.

"Dobe!" Sasuke practically growled, ready to shove Naruto down on the ground again.

"I can do better." Sakura replied Naruto while giving Sasuke a wink as she gently held her hand over Naruto's cheek, bringing out her chakra. In all honesty, Sakura's a bit rusty. She hasn't drawn forth her chakra in well over a month.

Both pair of eyes widened in surprised as Naruto's cheek began to rapidly mend under Sakura's healing touch. In mere seconds, the skin appears brand new with only a few specks of dust marring its perfection.

"TenTen-chan!" Naruto exclaimed in awe, a hand rubbing frantically on his newly healed cheek. "That's amazing! How did you do that? I've only seen the best imperial doctors do it!"

"Ah…" Sakura racked her brain to find a plausible excuse to explain her ability. "I've always been a rather sickly child you see, so I have a lot of free time on my hand. I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to study some medicine, you know, so I wouldn't be wholly dependent on others." It wasn't exactly a lie per say, although not the exact truth either. "In any case, I can't do it for very long. My chakra reserve isn't quite large enough for continuous intensive healing."

"Wow, you must be really smart! This is really impressive TenTen-chan!"

Sakura beamed at Naruto, especially since he's bought the story without question. "Anywhere else that you need me to 'kiss better'?" Sakura asked in good humor.

"Well…" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, giving her a foxy grin.

"That's enough for one day." Sasuke interrupted, partly because he doesn't want Sakura to become too exhausted and partly to stop Naruto from further flirting. "You should head back, Naruto. Jūgo will send a medic to you shortly."

"Party pooper." Naruto grumbled, but got up anyways. "Neh, TenTen-chan, I'll see ya later then?"

"-Of course." "-Don't count on it." Sakura and Sasuke replied at the same time.

Naruto laughed giddily at the response. "I'll leave you two love birds alone then."

A glance back at Sasuke showed the usually emotionally constipated man with red tinting his pallid cheeks.

When Naruto mentions this incident years later, Sasuke insists that the spar was the sole cause of the color on his cheeks.

Naruto knew better.

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It was during their customary game that night that Sakura noticed something was off with Sasuke.

Sure, he had acted like his usual stoic self, and if Sakura was anyone else, she wouldn't have suspected a thing. But she wasn't just anyone else. Having lived with him almost as inseparably as his shadow for the past several weeks had certainly allowed her to notice details of him that she would otherwise not be inclined to.

See? He did it _again. _His movements lagged slightly as he reached over to place a black stone down next to her cluster to the top right corner, effectively cutting her stones from connecting to the help in the middle.

There. Another clue.

Whatever's bothering the man had certainly made him even more aggressive than his usual style of play.

"_Or maybe, you're just not playing at your normal level." _Inner Sakura jested. _"Don't you think you're being a little too sensitive here?"_

"_Look at him! He's leaning on his _left _arm. How is that not an anomaly?"_

"_Um…. Enlighten me."_

"_When he's deep in thought – which he obviously is right now – he always rests his head on both hands folded in front. It's his classic thinking position."_

"_If you say so, dear."_

"_You know, I think he got hurt today while sparring with Naruto, but he's too stubborn to say anything about it."_

"_That's great! You can take the opportunity and give him a kiss on his boo-boo." _Inner Sakura cackled rather evilly.

"Are you feeling alright, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked in lieu of responding to her inner self, unable to hold in her concern.

Sasuke looked at her through half-lidded eyes, and Sakura felt stupid for even asking. If he hadn't said anything about it before now, it's 'Sasuke-speak' (a term that Sakura had dubbed as Sasuke's unique way of communication) that he doesn't _want _to draw attention to it. He's probably annoyed at her for even bringing it up. But really, the man should take better care of himself…

Seeing that Sasuke was probably not going to grace her with a reply, Sakura decided she'll offer to heal him later and opted to fish for a white stone to place for her next move. Sasuke may be prideful, but he's a rational person. If his wounds were serious, he would have taken care of it.

Quite abruptly though, his hands intercepted hers just as she was about make her next move. Sasuke slowly drew his thumb at the side of her hand, and Sakura felt a shiver down her spine.

"It hurts here." Sasuke practically whispered, pressing her hand to the left side of his well-toned chest.

Sakura knew she should be focused on what he was saying, but her heart practically skipped a beat when he grabbed her hand out of the blue. The world around her seemed a blur. All she could feel is the soft pounding of his heart through the layers of clothing and hear her own heart pounding hard in her chest in response. She vaguely wondered whether he was actually hurt there or whether he purposefully placed her hand against his heart. When had he even gotten this close to her?

"Would you kiss the pain away?" Sasuke asked softly. It was the exact same words Naruto used earlier, but coming out of Sasuke's mouth made the words seem so much more sensual than anything Sakura had ever heard before.

She watched in morbid fascination as Sasuke leaned closer to her, lifting her hand mere centimeters away from his lips. His impossibly dark eyes caught hers, and he finally closed the distance and gently brushed his lips against the knuckles of her hand.

Then slowly, so very slowly, Sasuke closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers for a chaste kiss.

It was so tender and sweet, betraying everything that Sasuke's indifferent demeanor portrayed. Sakura should have closed her eyes then and simply allowed the moment to consume her, but she couldn't.

It didn't matter that the candlelight splayed across Sasuke's face made him absolutely the most handsome man in the world.

It didn't matter that his thumb is drawing calm, comforting circles against her hand.

It didn't matter that his long lashes are brushing against her cheek.

Sakura could only stare wide-eyed at the man in front of her, too shocked to respond in any way.

Perhaps the kiss only lasted only a few seconds or several minutes or even hours. She couldn't tell. All she knew was that she was scared.

She was scared of the unsaid passions reflected in his eyes scared.

But more importantly, she was afraid of how her eyes mirrored the same passions as his.

"Mou..." Sakura stated weakly, shifting her eyes so she doesn't have to see his face. "Sasuke-kun took advantage of me."

"Hn. I could do more if you want." Sasuke replied, a smirk on his lips.

"Eh?" Sakura couldn't help but let a surprised yelp escape her, and then she realized he was _teasing _her. The moment was gone, and Sakura realized he just wanted her to relax with him.

"Let's retire for the night." Sasuke finally said. "Meeting the Dobe today must've been tiring."

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Sakura couldn't sleep that night; so instead, she allowed her hand to trace along the soft creases created by the silk bedding.

She tried to empty her mind, she really did. But inevitably, her thoughts drifted back to Sasuke's kiss. It was her first kiss after all, but it was so much more than that. When their lips touched, all thoughts abandoned her. She couldn't remember where she was, or that he was injured, or that it was completely _unacceptable _given their deal. But even now, her heart is pounding erratically in her chest.

It wasn't even all that great – the kiss that is – or at least she kept telling herself. It was so light that it felt like a feather had grazed her lips. Ugh, that sounds like she _wanted _it to be_ more_ – which she does not. At all.

Sakura let out a frustrated sigh and hoped against hope Sasuke was too deep in sleep to have heard her. She flipped herself over to her left side so she can watch him.

_Those beautiful long lashes…_

Just what is _wrong _with her? All she wants to do is reach over and touch him, all of him, so she can permanently ingrain every aspect of him in her memory forever.

_His perfectly chiseled face…_

This is not part of the plan. Not part of the deal.

_His passion filled eyes…_

She has never been this out of control before.

_His hand entwined with hers…_

Why couldn't she have said something clever when he had leaned towards her?

_His midnight black hair falling perfectly on his face…_

Or better yet, why didn't she just _tilt her head away? _It wasn't like he didn't give her time to do so. She could've avoided this whole disaster going on in her head if she just moved her head a few centimeters. But no, she just sat there, too shocked to even think, much less move.

_The rhythmic up and down motion of his heart…_

This – whatever this is happening to her – isn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to just play her part and in a few years or so, when Sasuke had established his rule, she could've left. No attachments.

She would never need to see him again afterwards. Or hear his voice. Or play Go with him until the wee hours of the morning. Or tease him. Or think about his oh-so-light kiss. She can go back home and study under Tsunade again and heal those in need. She will cure TenTen's illness one day, and she'll watch her live happily ever after with Neji. Then she'll find someone for herself one day who will love her and cherish her, and they'll have beautiful kids together.

_But it wouldn't be right. _Sakura frowned. Why does the thought of leaving him feel so _painful _now? Why does her life seem so _empty_ without his presence?

She barely knows anything about him! His mother hates her. He doesn't even _speak _to her all that much. The only reason they're even together here _right now_, in the same _bed, _is because of a deal.

_But the kiss was real. _That small, traitorous voice of hers whispered. _He kissed you of his own accord. He _wanted _to. It had nothing to do with the deal, but he did it anyways. _

Sakura suppressed a groan as she sat up on the bed.

She hated to admit it, but the reality of the matter was she wanted the kiss just as much as he did – perhaps even _more _than he did. If she was honest with herself, she regretted not taking the opportunity earlier to actuallyenjoy the moment, to just experience the touch of his lips on hers, to just feel content with the knowledge that at that moment, he was hers – completely hers, only hers.

It might not be love, but it's an undeniable attraction that can easily turn to the tangled webs of love.

She knew it was a bad idea. It would only serve to complicate her position even more, but…

Steeling herself with resolution, she climbed on top of Sasuke, taking care to be as noiseless as she could. She stared at him hard, slightly cursing him for his good looks.

Then in one swift motion, she leaned down and kissed him, just as sweet and tender (and short, Sakura thought in distaste) as the kiss he had given her earlier.

So there. That was payback. Now they're even.

Sakura promised herself that this would be the end of her little fascination with this unfathomable man. Hopefully, the little voice in her head would shut up so she can finally get some sleep.

Slowly returning to her spot on the bed, Sakura turned herself to face the blank wall instead of Sasuke and willed herself to stop thinking for the night.

Of course, she never saw the smile that graced his lips.

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A/N: Hey y'all... First of all, sorry for the long, long wait for this chapter. There are really no excuses except other than for me being lazy, but uh... yeah. To be honest, I don't quite like how this story is going. It feels like it's just dragging _on_ and _on_ to an extent, and I'm having a hard time getting to the real 'plot' which makes me really unmotivated to keep writing...etc. etc. Basically, I'm annoyed at my incompetence to put my thoughts down into words _precisely _and _efficiently. _But ah well, it's all a learning experience right?

On a brighter note, ain't the Image Manager feature dandy? I swear this is positively one of the few adjustments that I actually _like, _and yes, I am old. You can take a wild guess at my age since when I first went on , they allowed NC-17 fics (note I said NC-17 not MA since back then they used another rating system). God I feel old.

'nyways, a grand, big hug for all of you who actually are still reading this story or was waiting for an update etc, etc! Reviews are, of course, _greatly _appreciated. I am actually also thinking about raising the rating of this fic... tell me what you think? In any case though, I don't think I'll write anything _extreme..._but then again, that's kinda subjective...

Love you all, and hope your summer break is going better than mine haha.

**Spoiler for Manga 589:** I laughed uproariously when Itachi made the movement to poke Sasuke on the forehead. "I can still make it" OMG... Lols


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